Rush Limbaugh, "If you have any
doubts about the status of American health care, just compare it with that in
other industrialized nations." (Told You So, p. 153)

CON 2

The United States ranks 19th in life
expectancy and 20th in infant mortality among 23 industrialized nations,
according to the CIA's 1993 World Fact Book. The U.S. also has the lowest
health care satisfaction rate (11 percent) of the 10 largest industrialized
nations (Health Affairs, vol. 9, no. 2).

PRO 3 Rush's
answer to Fair

America's health care system is the
best in the world. According to Dr. Elizabeth McCaughey: "The [Clinton]
Administration often cites two statistics -- America's relatively high infant
mortality rate and its lower life expectancy -- to support the need for the
Clinton health bill. But these have almost nothing to do with the quality of
American medical care. Both statistics reflect the epidemic of low-birth-weight
babies born to teenage and drug-addicted mothers, as well as the large numbers
of homicides in American cities and drug-related deaths. In fact, if you're
seriously ill, the best place to be is in the United States. Among all
industrialized nations, the United States has the highest cure rates for
stomach, cervical, and uterine cancer, the second highest cure rate for breast
cancer and is second to none in treating heart disease." -- Dr. Elizabeth
McCaughey, John M. Olin Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, "No Exit,"
The New Republic, February 7, 1994.

CON 4

Limbaugh urged a comparison of "American health care to other
industrialized nations." FAIR did so, and found the U.S. running near the
bottom on such matters as life expectancy and infant survival. In attempted
rebuttal, Limbaugh offers a quote from "Dr. Elizabeth McCaughey" (not
a medical doctor, the Manhattan Institute's McCaughey has a PhD in
constitutional law), who writes that high infant mortality and lower life
expectancy "have almost nothing to do with the quality of American medical
care. Both statistics reflect the epidemic of low-birth-weight babies born to
teenage and drug-addicted mothers, as well as the large numbers of homicides in
American cities and drug-related deaths." This is misinformation. Infant
mortality, far from having "almost nothing to do with" the quality of
health care, is closely linked with the availability of prenatal care. According
to figures from the National Center for Health Statistics, the mortality rate
for infants whose mothers received little or no prenatal care is almost 10 times
that of mothers who received frequent prenatal care. And the Centers for Disease
Control estimate that homicide lowers U.S. life expectancy by about three months
-- which would do almost nothing to improve our rank. "Drug related
deaths" are far fewer than homicides, and would have even less impact on
our life expectancy ranking. It's ironic that Limbaugh objects to using these
statistics as measures of American health. They're the same two statistics he
cites on the same page of his book to show that "the health of the American
people has never been better." Limbaugh ignores the second half of FAIR's
argument: "The U.S. also has the lowest health care satisfaction rate (11
percent) of the 10 largest industrialized nations (Health Affairs, Vol.
9, No. 2)."